India denies involvement in ex-Bangladesh premier Hasina’s planned speech

India on Tuesday denied any role in organizing a virtual speech by former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is living in self-imposed exile in New Delhi.

“The government has no involvement whatsoever in it and does not endorse any views that may be expressed at the forum,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal told a news conference in New Delhi.

“The interaction you are referring to is being organized by a private media entity,” he added.

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia in Delhi is holding a virtual interaction of Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday.

Ahead of the scheduled event, M. Humayun Kabir, an adviser to Bangladesh’s prime minister, on Monday met the Indian high commissioner in Dhaka and protested about the event.

“Bangladesh expects India’s cooperation in ensuring that any person from banned organizations, including the fugitive Sheikh Hasina, cannot use Indian territory to make political statements or conduct any activities aimed at creating instability within Bangladesh,” he said.

The relations between the two nations deteriorated following the political upheaval in Bangladesh in July 2024 that ousted Hasina’s government.